By River Mitchell
@rivermitchell27
The Iowa State Cyclones so far have been off to a red hot start to the season so far, with an overall record standing at 13-3, 11 of those 13 being won by 15 or more points.
Iowa State hasn’t always had this level of success however.
Just three seasons ago, the Cyclones finished an abysmal 2-22 and 0-18 in the Big 12 conference.
But help is on the way.
Iowa State look to be even more dominant next season after landing two players in ESPN’s top 100 players in the class of 2024: Nojus Indrusaitis and Dwayne Pierce
Indrusaitis and Pierce have both been huge impact players for their respective teams. Indrusaitis plays for Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.) while Pierce for Christ the King Regional in Queens, N.Y.
On top of the success the program has had this year and in recent years, Pierce and Indrusaitis both found reasons why Iowa State would be a good fit for them to continue their career.
“The difference between them and other schools that recruited me [was] they really waited the time to offer me,” Pierce said. “[They] got to know all my flaws, all the pros and cons in my game and my personality. It just felt like family.”
Indrusaitis on the other hand committed very early on in the process, committing in December of 2022 during his junior year.
“I just wanted to find a place where I feel like I could impact,” Indrusaitis said. “The coaches really showed me a platform I could excel at.”
Throughout the entire process, the coaches for Iowa State have played a huge role in Pierce and Indrusatis’ commitment to the team. Nate Schmidt, the assistant coach for the Cyclones has formed a particularly close bond with Pierce, as the two communicate every single day.
“I speak to him everyday about the most random stuff,” Pierce said. “School, video games, college basketball, it doesn’t matter. We could talk all day.”
Indrusaitis has also had good conversations with the coaches as well, including head coach T.J. Otzelberger and JR Blount who have also been in consistent contact with Pierce as well.
“Coach JR and T.J. [are] always checking in on me and making sure I’m good. I feel like that’s the place that wanted me the most, so that’s where I’m going to go,” Indrusaitis said. “[The conversations have] been pretty positive so far. They’re always going to push you. They’re always going to want the best for me and push me.”
For Pierce and Indrusaitis, they’re both very excited to be a Cyclone and suit up to play in front of all the fans in Ames this next winter.
“I’m super excited,” Indrusaitis said. “It’s going to be fun, it’s exciting, and just seeing where I rank between everybody.”
“[Playing basketball] gives me peace of mind. It’s something I love to do,” Pierce said. “I have fun when I play basketball.”